Nasdaq Plans 24-Hour Trading To Tap Global Investor Demand

On Friday, Nasdaq Inc NDAQ President Tal Cohen shared plans to enable 24-hour trading on its equities exchange in a LinkedIn post.

The U.S. exchange operator plans to start round-the-clock trading in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory approval to tap retail investors’ surging interest in U.S. markets in different time zones.

“Over 56 exchange traded products have launched in the last five years tracking the Nasdaq-100 Index, and 98% of these products were introduced outside of the United States,” Cohen wrote.

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Nevertheless, Cohen also highlighted to Bloomberg the risks associated with increased volatility and higher transaction costs due to the expanded trading hours.

He added that despite the increase in overnight trading, liquidity is still “significantly lower” during those hours.

Cohen’s ambitions also depend on an update to the securities information processor (SIP), which displays the best bid and offer price of a stock on an exchange and needs to be updated to accommodate the extra hours.

Nasdaq will work with other industry participants to mitigate these concerns and risks by forming a group to do so, a spokesperson told Bloomberg.

In January, Cboe Global Markets, Inc. shared plans to extend trading on its equities exchange to 24 hours, five days a week, pending regulatory approval.

In October, the New York Stock Exchange applied to offer trading 22 hours on weekdays.

Robinhood Markets Inc HOOD and Interactive Brokers Group Inc IBKR already help customers transact U.S. stocks 24 hours a day, five days a week.

In November 2024, U.S. regulators approved the nation’s first 24-hour stock exchange to 24 Exchange, backed by Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures.

Price Action: NDAQ stock is up 0.39% at $76.47 at last check Friday.

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